One for the Money, Two for the Show
by luvmydogz
Summary: Why would Robotnik capture our heroes and force them to participate in a tournament? Why, one for the money, and two for the show! If only the crowds knew our heroes were in for the fight of their lives! CH6 up!
1. Chapter 1

Hello readers! A few notes before just to clarify the story. It takes place in the Sonic Adventure Universe, meaning no Knothole and characters associated with it. The characters in this story are as follows:

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Vector, Espio, Mighty, Charmy, and Cream and Cheese (at least for now).

And, of course, the disclaimer. I don't own any of these characters, no matter how much I wish I did. Now, on with the story!

One for the Money, Two for the Show

Chapter 1

"Owww, my head! What hit me?" Sonic groaned as he awoke from what could only have been a forced slumber. He brought his arms up next to him and flipped himself over on the cold hard floor that had apparently been his home for quite some time, if the protest from his muscles was any indication.

He blinked repeatedly as he tried to regain his sight, the blurriness eventually subsiding enough for him to get a good enough look at his surroundings. He appeared to be in some sort of cell, one that didn't appear to have much ventilation, he noted with disdain, as he became conscious of the thick, dank air that was being filtered through his lungs.

He struggled to shake off the grogginess that had been haunting him since he awoke, but it would be a few minutes before he could compose himself enough to try to think through his situation. Frustration mounted within him at his inability to gain control over his own thoughts, eventually leading him to throw his fists down at the floor in anger.

His fists connected with the cool cement, but his face picked up a very different texture as it followed his fists down towards the floor. One that felt distinctly like fur…

"Tails!" Sonic yelled out as his memory began to come back to him. He immediately scurried over to the side of his fallen friend, scanning his body for injuries before he began to shake him awake.

"Tails! Tails buddy! Wake up! It's me, Sonic!"

Panic started to well up within the blue hedgehog at the lack of response from his best friend, but it soon dissipated as a small groan could be heard coming from the slowly waking fox.

"Sonnicc," came his slurred voice, "what happened? I feel like I was hit by a bus."

Sonic let out a sigh of relief as he sat back on his knees, thinking it best to give his sidekick some air.

"I know the feeling, lil bro," he responded, once again looking around the cell. "As for what happened, I've been trying to figure that out myself. Where were we before we were here?"

"Weren't we out in the forest?" Tails groaned out as he pushed himself onto his knees to sit beside his hero.

"You're right," chimed in Sonic, putting his arm out to help steady the still woozy Tails, "but that doesn't explain how we ended up here."

"I can answer that," came an all too familiar voice out of the darkness. Both heroes immediately rose to their feet at the sound, Sonic stepping slightly in front of Tails as they faced the glowing red eyes that were suddenly staring them down from the front of the cell.

"Metal."

…………………………….

"I'm too brilliant for my own good," laughed the self proclaimed evil genius known to the world as Dr. Robotnik. "Too brilliant indeed."

"Sir," came one of Robotnik's many drones, "the people have started arriving."

"Excellent. Get your squad and man the ticket booths. We have a show to do!"

"Yes sir," replied the bot as it turned and exited the room, Robotnik's maniacal laughter echoing down the hallway in its wake.

"Finally, the hedgehog and all his puny friends will be destroyed, and I will make a profit off of it! My genius truly is unmatched," he chuckled to himself before returning his attention to the screen in front of him, which currently featured a giant, empty stadium.

…………………………………..

"What's going on here, Metal? What are you up to?" demanded Sonic as he continued to keep his eyes fixed on the only part of his robot doppelganger that was clearly visible in the darkness. The red eyes continued to glare back at him.

"Maybe if you'd shut your mouth long enough to listen, hedgehog, I'd tell you," replied the robot, enjoying the power he currently had over his rival.

Sonic growled in response, and was about to yell out a comeback when another voice from the back of the cell spoke up, surprising the hedgehog and the fox but not shaking Metal in the least.

"Take his advice and shut it, Sonic. I want to know what's up," came the voice as it approached the small gathering at the front of the cell.

"Well, if it isn't our old pal Knuckles," chuckled Sonic as he folded his arms over his chest and nodded in Knuckles's direction. "And just when were you going to let us know you were back there?"

"Forget it, Sonic," replied Knuckles, obviously in no mood for witty banter, "Let the robot speak. Why have you brought us here?"

"Business as usual, eh Knuckles?" chided the robot. "Well, the answer is simple. I gassed you all and brought you here for a show."

"Gas," acknowledged Sonic, "so that's how we got here."

"A show?" came Tails's more timid voice, responding to the rest of the information in Metal's statement. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a show, fox. One to which you are all going to be the guests of honor."

"Spit it out, Metal," said Sonic, now becoming impatient with this game, "What kind of show?"

"A battle, hedgehog, featuring you, your little friends, and Robotnik's latest slew of robots. But, enough with this talk. I know how impatient you can be, hedgehog. And the audience is arriving. So, let's round up the rest of your friends, and get on with the show!"

At that, an all too familiar gas began to seep out of unseen pipes in the walls of the cell, causing its inhabitants to break out into fits of coughing as the gas filled their lungs.

"Metal!" Sonic coughed out in anger as he watched his friends fall to the ground, soon joining them himself as the gas took over.

"Don't worry, Ssssonic," Metal mocked as he moved into the cell to pick up the now unconscious bodies, "you'll be out and about soon enough."

…………………………………….

And so ends chapter 1. Review:-D


	2. Chapter 2

Well, readers, here is chapter 2. Just as a side note, the ages in this fic are as follows:

Sonic: 15

Amy: 12

Knux: 17

Tails: 8

Cream: 6

Charmy: 6

Vector: 18

Espio: 16

Mighty: 16

They don't exactly follow any storyline exactly, but they work, so that is that. Anyway, enjoy chapter 2, which features the same characters we all know and love and that I continue to not own. :-D.

One for the Money, Two for the Show

Chapter 2

The next thing our heroes knew, they awoke to a load roar of applause seemingly coming at them from all angles. Sonic, for the second time that day, became conscious of not too comfortable ground lying beneath him.

This time, however, the offending material was a dried, light brown, almost sandy dirt, indicating to the blue hedgehog that their location had indeed changed. He attempted to open his eyes but immediately squinted as bright sunlight assaulted his tired eyes.

Searching around him, he located Tails, who was sitting with his hands over his much more sensitive ears, obviously not finding the applause very entertaining. When he noticed Sonic looking at him, he turned pain-filled eyes towards his hero, immediately forcing a smile when he noticed his concern.

He then nodded his head to point behind Sonic, indicating to him to turn around. The hedgehog did so, and surprise immediately graced his features.

Scattered around the dusty prison were various friends of his, some awake, some still unconscious. All four members of the Chaotix were present, and were currently huddled together around where their youngest member, Charmy the bee, continued to sleep. Knuckles was sitting in the corner with his arms folded, his glance currently turned towards Amy and Cream, who were just waking up towards the center of the cell. Cheese was currently fluttering wildly around them.

Sonic stood from his spot in the dirt, nodding his head to the Chaotix members as he headed towards the center of the cell to check on Amy and Cream.

"Woah, this is so uncool," muttered Amy as her journey back to consciousness brought her face to face with the overly bright afternoon sun. She reflexively clamped her eyes shut, but immediately opened them again when she heard Cream waking up beside her.

"Cream! Are you okay?" she hurriedly asked as she felt around for her friend, her eyes so squinted shut that she could barely see. "Chao chao!" added Cheese as the chao continued to hover around his friend. Amy found her arm and squinted to see her face, noticing that her eyes were attempting to flutter open as well.

"I wouldn't try that just yet, Cream," came a voice from behind them. "The sun is way bright; keep your eyes half closed until they adjust."

"Sonic!" both girls yelled out simultaneously. The blue hedgehog flashed them a grin before he was tackled head on by a hysterical Amy.

"Sonic! Thank goodness you're here! What's going on? What are we doing here?" Amy rattled off as question after question was thrust at Sonic, who was simply struggling at the moment to get off the ground yet again.

"Woah, Amy, chill for a second, will ya? And would ya get off me? I've spent enough time in the dirt today for a lifetime," he complained.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Amy apologized as she moved to let her long time crush push himself up. "So, what is going on?" she asked again as he brushed the dirt out of his fur.

"You're guess is as good as mine," Sonic replied, taking his eyes off his dirt-matted fur to glance around at the giant stadium around them. "Looks like those people are here for some kind of show, though," he continued.

"Well, Metal did say that we were going to be in a show," came Tails's voice as he walked up behind the small group. "The question is, exactly what kind of show."

"Tails!" yelled out both girls again. "So you're here too," Amy continued.

"Yup," he replied. "And we're not alone, either," he finished, pointing around the cell.

Amy looked around and noticed the rest of her fellow inmates, and then turned her eyes to the mounting crowds collecting in the numerous rows of stadium seats around them.

"I wonder what Eggman is up to this time," she though aloud as a voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Greetings, citizens of Station Square, and welcome to what is sure to be the greatest show in history!" echoed an all too familiar voice as applause erupted around the stadium.

"Eggman," Sonic muttered, unconsciously clenching his fists at his sides. He did not have a good feeling about this, but when did he ever when it came to dealing with that maniac? The collection of his friends around him, however, made his unease all that more pronounced.

"If you will all direct your eyes towards the locker room at the front of the stadium, you'll notice the first team of combatants. As promised, your heroes of Station Square!"

The crowd erupted into another fit of applause as Robotnik gritted his teeth from the announcer's booth. "Heroes?" Metal questioned from behind him. "What a flattering way to refer to those weaklings down there."

"Let them applaud now," Robotnik replied, "because soon, they will applaud their heroes right into oblivion! I love how easily manipulated people can be. They have no idea what's really going on here."

At that same moment, our heroes were looking around the stadium, confusion clearly displayed on their faces. "Greatest show in history, team of combatants? What is going on?" spoke Knuckles.

"Yeah! And what kind of locker room is this?!" yelled Sonic, banging on the seemingly unbreakable transparent material that separated them from the rest of the stadium.

Knuckles just rolled his eyes at the hedgehog's misplaced priorities, but then hushed his fellow captives as Robotnik's voice came over the loudspeaker once again.

"On the other side of the stadium, you will see their opponents. The latest and greatest robots created by the world's most evil genius, Dr. Ivo Robotnik!"

At this, the crowd erupted into a chorus of 'boo's', some even throwing things at the collection of robots standing on the stadium floor.

"Well, at least they seem to remember what side to be on," quipped Vector.

"Yeah, but why are they supporting this in the first place?" questioned Charmy, who had recently woken up.

"My guess is that they have no idea what's going on," spoke Espio as he stood against the wall, arms folded over his chest and eyes closed. He then opened them and looked to the others, "They probably think we agreed to be here in this 'show,' and they probably also have no idea that Robotnik is behind it all."

"Makes sense, I suppose," agreed Mighty. He sighed and leaned back into the wall, "Looks like there's going to be a battle then."

"A battle?" questioned Cream, looking with a mixture of fear and excitement towards the army of robots before them.

"Don't worry!" comforted Tails, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "We can take those heaps of metal, no problem!"

"Yeah!" Cream smiled. "We can do it, right Cheese?"

"Chao chao!" he replied.

Sonic grinned and patted Tails on the shoulder, offering a comforting smile before turning his eyes towards the other side of the stadium.

'I know I can take those bots,' he thought to himself. 'The question is, can everyone else?'

He glanced around the cell, his eyes lingering on the smaller and younger members of the group. 'If I know Eggman,' he continued to himself, 'he's got a plan to make this as difficult as possible.'

His eyes then made contact with Knuckles's, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. 'How can those people cheer as they watch children take on giant robots?' the echidna thought to himself. 'I'll never understand people, or why we bother to continue saving them for that matter.'

All inner monologues halted as Robotnik's voice once again came over the loudspeaker. "Now, to introduce the teams!" he announced with as much vigor as he could muster. 'I've got to keep the audience entertained so I can continue to make a profit off of them,' he thought to himself. 'Who would've thought I'd be able to destroy Sonic and profit? This is clearly my greatest plan yet. And with all the money these people are feeding me, I will build bigger and better machines with which I will destroy them all! And there will be no Sonic or his meddling friends around to stop me! I truly am a genius.'

"Sir," came a monotone voice from behind him. "The audience is waiting for the teams…"

"Oh, right," he muttered. "I mean, I knew that you fool! Do not interrupt me again!"

"Yes, sir."

Snapped out of his own inner monologue, Robotnik continued on with his announcement. "To make today's battle as entertaining as possible, we are going to split your heroes up into smaller teams and have separate battles," he informed the audience.

They began to cheer once again, but our heroes shifted uncomfortably.

'This is what I was afraid of,' thought Sonic.

"Now then, the teams are as follows! To maximize your enjoyment, we are going to have four battles, with your heroes fighting in three teams of two and one team of three. The teams of two are as follows: Sonic the Hedgehog (the crowd screamed out at the mention of their greatest hero. Robotnik only scowled and quickly moved on with the roster) and Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna and Mighty the Armadillo, and Vector the Crocodile and Espio the Chameleon. To be fair, the team of three will consist of the three youngest members of the hero team: Miles "Tails' Prower, Charmy the Bee, and Cream the Rabbit. The fights will begin in a few minutes!"

The audience continued to cheer, but the combatants inside the 'locker room' at the front of the stadium were experiencing very different emotions. Sonic turned worried eyes towards Knuckles, who returned his sentiments full force.

"Fair?" yelled Vector, obviously not happy with the previous announcement either, if his angered banging on the wall was any indication. "Sticking all our under 10 members on the same team? He calls that fair?"

"Calm down, Vector," said Espio, annoyed by the outburst but also trying to maintain some semblance of calm for his teammates' sakes, especially Charmy, who was looking very nervous. "He's obviously doing this to get under our skin."

"Well, he's doing a good job," muttered Mighty, punching his fist into his other hand.

They all went silent, no one knowing what to say next. Sonic looked up and noticed the worried looks on everyone's faces, and decided it was time for a pep talk.

"Guys, come on! Have a little faith here!" he yelled out with more enthusiasm than he felt. "Don't let their ages get you down! These guys are much stronger than they look! Robotnik may think he has the upper hand, but he's in for a surprise, right guys?"

Everyone sort of muttered a response to this outburst, clearly not feeling the confidence Sonic was attempting to feign.

'This is not good.' He thought to himself. 'Granted, Tails is a good fighter, but the greater majority of his strength is in his mind, not his body. The skills are there, but he's still lacking in the raw power and speed that will come to him with age. Charmy is also a good fighter, but his age and his size will similarly work against him. And Cream, well, she has Cheese, and a few fighting skills, but truthfully, she is most likely going to be more of a burden to the others than anything, if the frightened look on her face is any indication.'

'Even I would have trouble protecting her out there,' he thought to himself, looking worriedly at the young rabbit. He then shifted his focus to Tails, who was glancing at Cream with the same worried look in his eyes.

'Wait, what am I thinking?' Sonic chastised himself. 'If we don't have any confidence in them, they're never going to win! I should listen to my own pep talks.'

"That's it! Everybody wake up before I go around this cell and slap some sense into every one of you!"

At that, everyone gave him their attention.

"Good, now, why all the gloomy faces? These are members of our team we're talking about here! We've seen them fight, and we know what they are capable of. If we sit around here and mope, no one is going to have the drive to get out there and win today. But if we are confident in ourselves, like we should be, then we will have the power to get out there and win! Who's with me?" Sonic finished, finally feeling himself pump up.

He looked around to notice the others begin to wake up as well.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow at his friend's speech, but then cracked a smile. Amy gazed dreamily at her hero, making Sonic slightly uncomfortable, especially when Cream's hand waving in front of her face had seemingly no effect.

On the other side of the cell, Charmy was returning to his usual energetic self.

"Yeah! Sonic's right! These guys are gonna be no problem! I'll take them all down myself!"

The rest of the Chaotix smiled at their youngest member's enthusiasm, even Espio sparing a small grin.

"Charmy's right!" cheered Vector. "I know I sure wouldn't want to be those robots once he got out there!"

"Tell me about it," agreed Mighty. "We all saw what you ate for lunch there, Charm. I for one don't want to be anywhere near you once you get going…"

"Hey, you ate it too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Well, so did Vector!"

"What? Don't bring me into this!"

Espio sighed and distanced himself from his group as the fighting typical of the Chaotix continued in the background. The others looked on and smiled, feeling much more relieved with this return to a degree of normalcy. Tails, however, though smiling, was still feeling somewhat uneasy.

'I'm the oldest member on my team,' he thought, glancing at both Charmy and Cream. 'It's up to me to keep the others safe. What if I fail? I don't know what I'd do if the others got hurt.'

Despite the fox's smile, Sonic saw right through his best friend's façade. Without a word, he gently took him by the arm and walked towards the front of the cell for some privacy.

"Don't worry Tails," he began, knowing exactly what was making the fox so nervous. "Just believe in the strength of your teammates."

"The strength of my teammates?" Tails repeated. "But they can't go alone against those robots."

"Exactly," answered Sonic, gaining a confused look from Tails. "Hence the word 'team.' You are on a team Tails, just like you always are when you're fighting by my side. Have confidence in your teammates' abilities; that is the only way you will succeed. You will help them out, and they will help you. That is why we triumph over these mechanical morons, because of our ability to work together. You can look to protect those less skilled and experienced than yourself, but don't make the mistake of underestimating them in a fight. I would never do that with you. That's how I know you will win."

Tails stood next to his hero, absorbing all the advice he had just been given. As he began to understand, a smile graced his features.

"You're right, Sonic. We can do this!"

"That's the spirit, lil' bro! You were always the smart one, I'm sure you'll come up with a strategy to take those robots down! I'm counting on you big guy!"

"I won't let you down, Sonic!" he affirmed, jumping into his adopted brother's arms and giving him a hug. Sonic hugged back, and then let the small kit back to the ground. "I won't let you down!" he repeated, calling over his shoulder as he ran to meet with his other teammates so they could begin to strategize.

"I know you won't, Tails," he said to himself, noticing Amy walk up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know you won't."


	3. Chapter 3

Okay readers, so here is chapter 3. As usual, I don't own these characters. Enjoy!

One for the Money, Two for the Show

Chapter 3

As Knuckles watched Tails run hurriedly away from Sonic and Amy, he decided to confront the hedgehog with his own concerns. He walked over to where the two hedgehogs were standing, and shot Amy a 'please leave' look. She nodded, taking the hint, and decided to follow Tails over to the others.

"Sonic," Knuckles started, "give Tails a computer to hack into or a machine to build, and there is no one better. But put him up against three giant robots…" Knuckles clenched his fists. He had become very fond of the small fox, and did not like this situation one bit. "Robotnik truly is looking to get him out of the way this time. And leave us helpless in the process."

"I know," replied Sonic, becoming even more unsettled by Knuckles's rare showing of such concern, "and this grouping especially makes me uneasy. Tails knows he is the most able member of that group, and for that reason he is going to try to overcompensate. You know him, if anything were to happen to those other guys, he would never forgive himself. I'm just worried that he's going to throw his own safety to the wind and get himself hurt."

"Well, you're right about that," Knuckles agreed, recalling past battles. "Tails has always seemed willing to take a hit for a friend."

"Exactly," Sonic affirmed. "I tried to make it clear to him that relying on the strength of your teammates is the most important thing to keep in mind during a team battle, and to a point I think he listened to me. But he's still going to be looking out for his friends out there, as he should, and with their inexperience, it's not going to be an easy task. Even we would have some difficulty with it."

Knuckles sighed and closed his eyes. "Well, I wouldn't call his being on a team a burden. Even if he were able to figure out a plan, he would still need help to execute it. The others might be young, but they do have some battle experience, and they will follow orders if Tails gives them. However, Tails is their greatest shot out there. If he gets taken down, they're all done for. I don't like this at all."

"Me either," Sonic agreed. "But it looks like we don't have a choice. Tails is smart, Charmy is energetic, and Cream is persistent. We just have to believe that they will be able to utilize their separate talents and work together, at least until we can find some way out of this mess. I don't even want to think about the alternative."

"They'll be able to do it," came a voice from behind the two friends, one they immediately identified as belonging to Espio.

"Geez, Espio. Would you mind not sneaking around like that? We have enough to worry about!" said Knuckles, clearly somewhat angered at Espio's ability to sneak up on him.

"Believe in them," he continued, ignoring Knuckles's statement. "We are their best friends. If we don't believe in them, how can they believe in themselves?"

Sonic smiled at the strong words of the normally stoic chameleon, but still couldn't help but harbor the smallest bit of unease. His best friend was going up against overwhelming odds, and he couldn't do anything about it. It made him nervous and angry at the same time. He was going to make Robotnik pay for this when they got out. He turned his eyes towards Knuckles, and could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Espio's right," came Vector's voice as he and Mighty joined the group. "Plus, what are we worrying for? We don't even know when they're fighting. They'll probably have ample time to sort out a weakness."

Almost as in response to Vector's statement, Robotnik's voice came over the loudspeaker once again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first battle is about to begin! Please welcome our first combatants: Tails, Charmy, and Cream!"

The crowd began chanting with excitement while our heroes all turned angry eyes towards Vector.

"I guess I should have seen that coming…" muttered the crocodile.

At that moment, an unseen door in the front of the cell quickly opened and shut. Before anyone had time to register what had happened, Tails, Charmy, Cream, and Cheese were deposited outside on the stadium floor.

"Woah, what was that?" questioned Tails, obviously confused at their quick change of scenery.

"Metal," said Sonic with anger in his voice. "One day I'm going to dismantle that robot."

"Unfortunately for you, hedgehog, that day is not today," mocked Metal from outside the cell before taking off towards the announcer's booth.

Inside the cell, Sonic clenched his fists in anger, but outside the cell, Tails was beaming with confidence.

"Well guys," he started, standing up and brushing himself off, "you remember what we discussed. These robots are going down!"

"Yeah!" called out his teammates. "We're too smart for them!" finished Charmy, dancing around and taunting the three giant robots that had stepped out of the 'locker room' at the other end of the stadium.

"Charmy…" muttered Mighty, shaking his head at their youngest member's antics. "I hope they all take this seriously."

"Don't worry, Mighty," said Sonic, noticing the look of determination on his sidekick's face, "they're taking it seriously."

"Sonic, I'm worried about Cream. She'll be okay, won't she?" came Amy's worried voice from behind the blue hedgehog.

Sonic turned and gave her a smile. "Of course she will, Amy. Tails and Charmy are out there with her. As a team, they'll do great!"

Amy smiled back, seemingly satisfied with that answer. Sonic looked back towards the battlefield, where the battle was about to start.

"At least I hope they will," he continued to himself. And then out loud, he stated, "In the meantime, let's see exactly how sturdy this invisible wall is."

……………………………………

Tails stared the robots down as they made their way towards the middle of the field, taking in every bit of machinery he could identify on them. A rounded, dome-shaped head with a single red eye in the center adorned the tops of the robots, while very clearly detachable metal fists sat at the ends of thick, metal-plated arms.

'Rocket fists' he thought to himself. 'Great. So they have long range attacks.'

His eyes continued to scan as he came across rocket boosters attached to the robots' backs. 'And speed. Wonderful. Okay, no problem, Tails. Think. I just need to find a weakness.'

Just then, one of the robots turned its head 180 degrees, allowing Tails to get a look at the back of its head, where he quickly spotted a square plate. 'So he put the main control access in the head? Interesting. He's clearly underestimating us.' He then noticed the sparks of electricity surrounding the head. 'Or maybe not…'

Tails motioned for Charmy and Cream to come closer, at which point he quickly explained the weak spot that they were going to have to exploit. "We just need a way to take out the head without touching it; Robotnik electrified the outside."

"But how can we do that?" questioned Cream in a wavering voice, hugging Cheese to her.

"Well," Tails started, but he never got a chance to finish his thought as his sensitive ears picked up a sound to his left. He looked in time to see a blast of laser fire coming their way. Quickly, he dove into his teammates and they all went crashing to the ground, the area in which they were previously standing clearly singed and slightly smoking.

Back in the cell, our other heroes let out a sigh of relief, the somewhat soundproof material surrounding the cell making it impossible for them to warn their friends of the incoming laser fire.

'That was too close,' thought Tails as he picked himself up off the ground. "Wait, that's it!" he yelled out loud.

His other teammates looked at him, but didn't have time to question his outburst before they had to jump away from yet more laser fire. Apparently, the battle had begun.

Up in the announcer's booth, Robotnik watched the battle, a small, radio-like device in his hands. He used this device to bark occasional orders out at his robots, seeing as how he was in a better position to view the entire battle field. Metal stood behind him with his arms folded, calmly watching the ensuing fight below. While he wanted to see these pests eradicated, his main concern was destroying the blue hedgehog who was currently staring intently at the battle before him.

On either side of the stadium at ground level, small glass booths were built into the walls. Inside these booths were smaller robots, designed to call the battle for the audience in order to keep them entertained. At this moment, they were calling excitedly as the battle began, announcing the proximity with which each blast of the laser fire was coming towards the heroes. The audience cheered the combatants on as the fight continued.

All three combatants took to the air, Tails having decided previously that they would be faster and more easily able to evade attacks flying than running. The robots broke up and each went after one of the flying animals. Tails kept his flying patter erratic, as he had told the others to do, but he also systematically tried to make his way closer to Charmy.

"Charmy!" he called out when he had gotten close enough.

The bee turned to look at him, but quickly turned away as blaster fire nearly tore off one of his wings.

"Don't look, just listen!"Tails continued. "Try to be conscious of where I'm flying, we have to get them to shoot each other!"

It took Charmy a moment to register what had just been called out to him, but understanding dawned on him a moment later and he nodded while continuing to evade his robot's fire.

Tails then turned his attention towards Cream, who had separated from Cheese in order to try and confuse the robot. "Cream!" he called out. "Keep doing what you're doing, I'll be right back!"

The rabbit nodded, concentrating too hard to give Tails any other sign of recognition.

Tails turned and began flying back towards Charmy, who in turn started flying towards him, bringing the two robots closer together.

'We only have one shot at this,' Tails thought to himself. 'I hope Charmy can read what I'm doing… Sonic said to depend on the strength of my teammates, and that's what I'm going to do!'

At this, Tails dove down so he was level with the robots head, but all the way out towards its left. Charmy, noticing this action, did the exact same thing, except on the opposite side. The two robots were now positioned so that they were directly across from each other, though too far apart to notice. Tails and Charmy briefly made eye contact and smiled at each other, before taking off at full speed in an arc around the robots, their final destination being the spot directly in between them.

Back in the cell, Sonic smiled in recognition, as did a few others. At the same time, Robotnik let out an enormous yell, seeing the kit's plan a moment too late.

Once Tails and Charmy reached the center of the space between the robots, they both pulled up simultaneously, leaving the laser fire that had been directed at them to careen towards the heads of the unsuspecting robots. An explosion was heard as the lasers came into contact with the electricity, causing the domed heads to blow off the robots' bodies and into tiny pieces of burning scrap metal, which proceeded to litter the stadium floor. With their main wiring centers gone, the robots powered down, leaving them to fall backwards and hit the ground with a thunderous crash.

Tails and Charmy high-fived mid-air whilst the crowd erupted into whoops and cheers around them. Unfortunately, their celebration was short lived, as a scream from their teammate immediately caught their attention. The two heroes turned to see Cream flying towards the dirt, where Cheese was currently lying face down. In her hurry to reach her friend, she did not take note of the blaster fire being aimed her way.

"Cream! Look out!" the two teammates called out simultaneously as they noticed the robot taking aim. Unfortunately, Cream was too preoccupied with the health of her little friend, and therefore did not acknowledge the oncoming fire. Realizing this, Tails and Charmy took off at full speed towards the fallen rabbit, as the rest of our heroes anxiously looked on. Tails, being the faster flyer, sped out ahead of Charmy, but even he wasn't fast enough to completely avert disaster. He dove to the ground and grabbed Cream and Cheese, shielding them from the robot and using his momentum to dive out of the way, but not before the laser shot that was fired hit him square in the leg.

He screamed out in pain as the shot went through his leg, and would have been hit again had Cream not grabbed him by the arm and moved him out of the way as the laser fire continued. Charmy, seeing his teammate hurt, decided to distract the remaining robot so as to give Tails a moment to collect himself.

Back in the cell, our remaining heroes looked on with a mixture of fear and anger as they saw their friend fall victim to the unyielding laser fire. Their resentment only grew as the crowd began to cheer at the growing level of excitement in the stadium.

"What side are these people on?" yelled Knuckles as he continued punching the wall of the cell, doing his part to try to break through it. "Tails has saved their lives, and now they cheer when he gets hurt?"

"No kidding," added Vector from his spot next to the echidna, similarly putting his strength to work against the seemingly invincible barrier. "I'd like to get out there and shoot them with lasers, see how much they like it!"

"Yeah!" agreed Mighty, the third in line. Unfortunately, despite the strength behind these three fighters, the wall had yet to show any signs of yielding.

At that moment, Espio materialized in the middle of the cell, confirming what everyone had already known. There was no way out of this cell except through that wall.

Sonic, for his part, was trying to focus on finding a way out of the cell, but instead found himself focusing intently on the battle outside. Amy, who continued to stand beside him, noticed the look of worry on his face and grabbed his hand as a gesture of comfort. He glanced at her and smiled, but then immediately returned his attention to his fighting friends.

"Come on, Cream," started Tails as he pushed himself up onto one leg. "We have to get up there and help Charmy!"

"But Tails," she protested, "you're hurt!"

"What, this?" Tails smiled, motioning to his injured leg. "This is nothing, I've had way worse." At that, Cream looked up at Tails with awe-filled eyes. "Now, come on!" he continued. "We have a battle to win!"

"Okay!" she yelled, turning a determined look towards their enemy. "Let's go, Cheese!"

The chao, who had recovered from the near miss of the laser fire that had singed his arm, took off after his rabbit friend.

Tails revved up his tails and lifted off the ground as well, grimacing slightly at the throbbing in his leg before heading off towards the robot once again.

The three of them remained in the air, zigzagging to avoid both the laser fire and the rocket fists that the robot had begun to use.

'This is bad,' Tails thought to himself, noticing his teammates beginning to tire. 'I have to come up with something quick. We can't last like this. But how am I going to get past that metal plate?'

Tails's eyes darted wildly around the stadium, looking for anything that would aid him in removing that plate. It was then that he spotted the now cooling metal pieces scattered around in the dirt. 'That's it!' he thought, swooping down and picking up a particularly sharp piece. As he was down there, he noticed that the bottom of the stadium, where the wall met the ground, was lined with some kind of rubber stopping. 'Even better!' he thought, using his metal piece to slice off a chunk of it. He then took to the air again, flying directly in front of the robot in order to get its attention.

"Tails! What are you doing?" Charmy frantically called out as he saw his friend leap directly into the line of fire. He started to fly in his direction, but Tails called out for him to stop.

"I know what I'm doing!" he yelled.

A moment later, the blaster fire shot directly at Tails. Cream yelled out in horror and covered her eyes as Charmy anxiously looked on. Tails, however, was ready. He blocked himself with the piece of metal he was holding, saving him from the burn of the laser but not protecting him from the rush of momentum that thrust him backwards into the wall behind him.

He hit the wall with a grunt, pain shooting up through his shoulder blade as it came into contact with the tough material. He had no time to waste, however, and ignored the pain as he flew back at the robot, the scalding hot piece of metal in his hands.

"Distract him!" he called out to his friends as he flew behind the robot. Charmy and Cream, understanding his plan, flew directly into the robot's line of fire to make sure they had its attention.

As they did this, Tails hovered behind the robot, careful not to touch the head for fear of being electrocuted. He used the piece of rubber he chopped off the wall to hold the hot metal, and then proceeded to use it to burn a hole through the metal plating in the head, the rubber protecting him from the surges of electricity.

He made it all the way through in one spot, and was able to trace all the way around the plate, but he didn't have ample time to burn through all the metal as the piece he was using cooled off. Deciding not to risk getting hit with the blaster fire again, he wrapped the rubber around his hands and dug them into the small hole he had made. He then began to pull with all his might, trying to pry off the plate, figuring he had a chance since he had been able to cut down on the thickness of the metal surrounding it.

However, without a base to put his feet for leverage, he couldn't muster the sheer strength required to pull off the plate. 'If only Knux were here,' he thought wistfully. As he struggled, the robot continued to turn and fire at his other teammates. Unfortunately, he eventually turned enough so that Robotnik caught sight of what Tails was attempting to do.

"He's trying to dismantle my robot!" he yelled.

"Smart kid," muttered Metal.

"Shut up!" Picking up his radio device, he barked orders at the robot to stop the small kit immediately.

Receiving these orders, the robot turned its head 180 degrees so that Tails was now at the front of its body. Turning his head, Tails noticed his teammates hovering behind him.

"Well, don't just hover there," he called out. "Come help me pull!"

Unfortunately, before Cream or Charmy even had a chance to move, the robot brought up its arm and clenched its fist around Tails's small body. He screamed out in pain, his yells getting louder as the robot squeezed tighter around his body.

"Tails!" his teammates called out, flying full force into the robot's fist in an attempt to make it let go of the two-tailed fox. However, their tries had no effect as they bounced harmlessly off the metallic arm with each and every attempt.

The robot began pulling Tails away from its head, responding to the orders to get him away from the metal plate. Tails, however, was still holding on to the hole he had made, and the robot's strength was enough to begin to pry the cover off. Noticing this, Tails tightened his grip on the plate, trying his hardest to ignore the pain he was in.

'I just have to hold on long enough for the plate to detach' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth in pain. The robot continued to squeeze and he yelled out again, this time hearing a crack that sounded distinctly like a rib breaking.

Back in the cell, Sonic and the others were yelling Tails's name, banging vainly on the transparent material in front of them as they watched the life getting squeezed out of their small friend.

"Damn it!" Sonic screamed, falling to his knees. "Tails is dying out there, and all we can do is watch!"

"I know," Knuckles muttered through clenched teeth, continuing to pound away at the invisible wall in front of him.

"Tails will be okay," said Amy, attempting to lift their spirits. "I know he will!"

"Amy, he's being tortured. TORTURED! He is obviously not okay!" Sonic screamed, tears of frustration beginning to run down his face.

Amy turned her head to the ground at Sonic's outburst, a look of dejection on her face. Mighty came up behind her.

"She's only trying to help, Sonic. We have to stay positive," he said.

Sonic remained silent for a moment, letting the tears flow freely down his face. Then he looked up at them. "I know," he choked out between sobs. "I know. I just feel so powerless."

Now it was Knuckles's turn to speak. "That is exactly what Robotnik wants us to feel. By letting it affect you like this, you're playing right into his hand. We have to concentrate on getting out of here!"

Another loud scream and a screech cut off Knuckles's speech and brought their attention back outside, where the robot had successfully pulled Tails away from its head. Unfortunately for the robot, Tails had the metal plate in tow.

'I did it,' he thought to himself, getting woozy from the constant onslaught of pain. 'Now all I have to do is pull the right wire.'

Lost in this train of thought, Tails didn't notice himself get tossed into the air, nor did he notice the rocket fist being aimed directly at him.

"Tails!" called Charmy and Cream simultaneously, both seeing what the robot had planned. Unfortunately, their call was too little too late.

The robot fired its fist at Tails, who was caught directly in its line of fire. It made contact with his tired body and shot through the air, with him plastered to the front, until it reached the wall at the side of the stadium. Tails was smashed upon contact and was then held there, sandwiched between the wall and the robot's fist.

Everyone in the stadium took in a gasp of air and held their breaths as Tails crashed into the wall, waiting to see his condition once the fist was removed. Sonic and the others stared anxiously at the detached fist, as did Charmy and Cream, who were hovering maybe a few feet away.

As if aware of all the scrutiny, the metallic fist retracted a moment later, leaving Tails plastered to the wall momentarily before his unconscious body slid down the wall, leaving a small streak of blood in his wake. He then fell to the ground, face down, and didn't move.

None of our heroes said anything, all of them too paralyzed to form words. It was a cheer from the audience that broke the silence as the entire stadium erupted with excitement.

Seemingly snapped out of his reverie by the noise, Sonic slowly registered what had just happened. He stared at the unmoving body of his best friend, hoping to see even the slightest bit of movement.

But there was nothing. And that was when Sonic screamed.

……..

Okay, a bit of a cliffy, but nothing too painful. Will Tails be okay? Will the others prevail over the robots? And what about all the battles to come? Tune in next time for chapter 4! And please, R&R! It's hard to continue w/o any encouragement. Thanks:-D


	4. Chapter 4

Well hello readers!

Sorry its been so long, college is busy. But, at long last, I have returned with chapter four.

I do not own these characters!

Now read and enjoy!

One for the Money, Two for the Show

Chapter 4

At Sonic's scream, many of the other heroes trapped in the cell fell to their knees while others could only stare, all finally hit with the gravity of the situation. Out on the battlefield, Cream and Charmy stood with teary eyes turned towards their fallen comrade, too shocked to fully react. It wasn't until the ground started shaking under their feet that they noticed the robot charging full force in their direction.

Regaining his bearings first, Charmy reached out and grabbed hold of the still distraught Cream, pulling her into the air and out of the way as the robot stomped on the ground they had previously inhabited. Once out of the way, they both immediately made a beeline for Tails's unconscious form.

Unfortunately, Robotnik had predicted such a move on their part, and had ordered his robot to move accordingly.

Inside the cell, our heroes screamed once again as they saw their two remaining teammates heading straight into the clutches of the enemy.

"Watch out!" they seemed to call simultaneously.

But the call was too little too late, not that the fighters on the field could have heard them anyway.

Snatched from mid-air, both Charmy and Cream could only squirm in protest as the robot's giant metallic fists closed around them. It stood there for a moment, slowly squeezing the life out of its two tiny captives, until it seemingly changed its mind and began charging towards the opposite wall. Opening its fists, the robot smashed the two small animals unceremoniously into the hard material and held them there, effectively making it so that neither Charmy nor Cream could move, or, more importantly, breathe.

"NO!" screamed Amy as she watched the torture being inflicted upon her small friends. "Sonic!" she yelled, struggling through her blurry vision to spot the blue hedgehog, "We have to do something! We can't just let them die out there!"

He did not respond.

"Sonic, did you hear me? We have to do something!"

Still, nothing.

"Sonic! Dammit! Are you just going to let them die? Do something!"

"AND WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO?" he screamed, surprising everyone in the cell and prying their eyes away from the massacre occurring out on the field.

"What would you have me do?" he repeated in a much softer tone, his voice clearly cracking with unshed tears. It was then that everyone took note of a very foreign expression pervading the hedgehog's face.

He looked completely defeated.

"Sonic…" Amy started, but was at a loss for words.

It was then that Knuckles stepped forward, placing a very strong punch to the side of the hedgehogs face and sending him flying into the invisible barrier surrounding the cell. Amy jumped at his action, trying to run toward her hero to see if he was okay, but Knuckles stopped her with a firm but gentle grasp of her wrist.

"Snap out of it, Sonic!" he yelled towards the fallen hero, even as he made no effort to get up. "Since when do you let Robotnik defeat you like this? Aren't you supposed to be this great hero? Start acting like it!"

Still, there was no response from the blue hedgehog, though he did move to bring himself to his knees. Shining eyes turned themselves towards the battle out on the field, and Knuckles could only let out a defeated sigh as he returned to his task of breaking through the wall.

It seemed as though Robotnik had finally found a way to break the unwavering hedgehog.

Silence took over the cell, a strong contrast to the continuously loud cheering coming from the stadium audience.

And out on the field, Charmy and Cream's efforts to escape were dying down, their oxygen quickly dwindling.

All seemed lost as our somber heroes turned their eyes back to the battlefield, some still holding the smallest glimmer of hope that somehow, they would all get out of this alive.

It was then that Knuckles noticed a very important fact.

"Where did Tails go?"

……..

'I can't believe this is actually working!' Robotnik mused to himself. 'Wait, what am I talking about? Of course it is working! I am an evil genius!'

The faint sound of Sonic's scream immediately caught Robotnik's attention as he turned his head towards the clear prison cell.

'They look so defeated, and the hedgehog is actually on his knees! They will be no match for me now! Finally, the world will be mine! Mwahahaha!'

As Robotnik cackled inside his own head, especially pleased as he watched the fight breaking out amongst the captives, he eventually noticed one of his captives seemed out of place.

"What is that red echidna doing?" he thought out loud, noticing how his eyes seemed to be opened wide with surprise and fixed in a certain direction.

Following his line of sight, Robotnik nearly fell out of his chair as he realized what the echidna had been staring at.

'How do they always do this?' he thought to himself as he grabbed the radio device that allowed him to communicate with his robot.

"Priority one," he screamed, "locate that damn fox!"

………….

Back in the cell, everyone looked up at Knuckles's statement and, to their surprise, noted that Tails was indeed missing from his spot on the arena floor.

"But… but how?" Vector questioned as he looked out, clearly mirroring the feelings of his friends as they, too, stared wordlessly out of the cell.

"Who cares how!" Knuckles yelled, getting everyone's attention. "He's alive! He's freaking alive!"

Our heroes jumped and yelled at this realization. All except one, that is.

Sonic continued to stare out of the cell, not trusting his eyes as his brain strained to comprehend this newfound information.

'He's…. He's alive?' he thought, his eyes welling up once again. 'I should've known…' he mused to himself, the smallest smile gracing his features as he slightly shook his head.

'You were always a stubborn one, Tails.'

"Hold on a second," came Amy's voice as she stood in the middle of their celebration.

"Just where did Tails go?"

Again, all eyes turned out of the cell, scanning the arena floor for any sign of the little fox.

He had, in fact, disappeared.

…..

Back on the field, time seemed to be running out for Charmy and Cream, and the two small animals knew it. They searched in vain for a way to free themselves as the robot continued to push with more force on their tiny frames.

'This is it, I'm going to die!' Charmy thought to himself.

"Chao Chao!" Cheese yelled out as he tried repeatedly to break the hold on his friend by pounding his small body into the robots fist.

"Cheese…" Cream choked out. "I can't move. Get away from here…"

'I'm going to die! I'm going to die!' Charmy continued in his head, repeating the words like a mantra to himself. 'I'm going to……what the?

Suddenly, Charmy and Cream were freed from the wall, leaving their exhausted bodies to fall into a heap on the ground. When they looked up, they noticed the robot turning its head wildly around, seemingly searching for something.

"What is he doing?" Cream questioned as a relieved Cheese floated beside her.

"I don't know," Charmy answered, "but we shouldn't stick around to find out. Come on!"

Making sure Cream was behind him, Charmy began to pull his weakened body away from their powerful enemy. "We should head over to where Tails is…. Oh my god!"

It was then that the injured bee finally realized what had sent the robot into such a frenzy. He waved at Cream and directed her attention towards the spot where Tails should have been laying.

"He's gone?" she questioned incredulously. "But, how? And where?"

"I don't know…" Charmy started, until he took another good look at the robot. "Oh no…"

"What?" Cream cried anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"Cream," he started, "I found Tails…"

…..

Back in the cell….

"How could he just disappear?" Sonic yelled frantically as he stared out into the stadium. "He has to be somewhere!"

"But where is the question," started Knuckles, also searching the stadium for any sign of Tails. "He can't have gotten far…"

"What are Charmy and Cream staring at?" wondered Amy aloud, breaking the current train of thought as she stared at the two small animals.

As she spoke, the robot began to turn around as it frantically searched the arena for the missing fox.

"I don't know…" Mighty mused from the side of the cell, "but it looks like…wait! Look!"

Sure enough, where Mighty was pointing, the robot had completely turned around, and a small orange and white figure could be seen pulling its way up the robots body.

"Tails!" they all screamed in unison.

Unfortunately, Robotnik noticed this at the same time.

'Dammit, how did he do that!?!' he yelled in his mind.

"You fool!" he called into the radio, "He's climbing up your side! Stop him! Stop him immediately!"

Hearing these commands, the robot immediately brought its arm up to its side and began groping around for the tiny fox, but its movements were too slow.

Tails, realizing he had been found out, redirected all his strength into reaching the head of the robot.

'I can't fail now,' he thought to himself, grimacing as his muscles protested his movements. 'I have to get to that wire!'

As he thought this, the hand finally made contact with his injured body, and moved to encircle his tiny form and pry it away.

Seeing he was out of time, Tails used his last burst of energy to thrust himself in front of the open panel. Tiny bouts of electricity, less intense than before but still there all the same, began to assault his small frame. Tails tried his best to ignore it.

'So close,' he thought, 'just have to pull the power source. Which wires?' his eyes frantically scanned the inner wiring of the robot, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing.

As he struggled, the robots hand finally clamped around his body and began to pull him away.

'No! Out of time!' he thought. 'Here goes! Blue!'

Clenching his fist around the bunch of blue wires, Tails held on for dear life as he was pried away from the robots body and thrown with great force through the air.

"Tails!" everyone screamed out in panic, both inside and outside the cell, as they watched him get tossed from the robot.

Tails somewhat registered the screams of his teammates, but he was more focused on the form of the robot in the distance, which, out of the corners of his closing eyes, he could see beginning to slump towards the ground.

'I did it,' he thought to himself as he finally lost consciousness.

The rest of the group could only look on in horror as Tails's body flew into one of the robot announcer booths, crashing through the glass before becoming lost under a pile of glass and rubble.

Everything went silent, until the crowd erupted into cheers once again.

Yes, I know, yet another cliffhanger! How could I be so cruel you ask? I don't know. Review:-D


	5. Chapter 5

Hello again! Updating this fic has been a long time coming, but I suddenly found new inspiration (and actually remembered where I was going with this) so I decided to continue! Earlier chapters have been given a bit of a makeover as well, but nothing that would affect the plot. Just a few changes in my interpretations of my characters. Anyway, enough from me. On with the fic (which of course contains characters I definitely do not own.)

One for the Money, Two for the Show

Chapter 5

Robotnik could only stare in shock as his third creation went crashing to the ground.

'Impossible,' he thought to himself as the excited cheers of the stadium continued on around him. 'I always knew that little kit was intelligent, but I figured he was hopeless in battle without the hedgehog. He has become far too dangerous.'

Sparing a glance at the announcer's booth where the kit was last seen, he watched as the fox's two teammates furiously dug through the glass in an attempt to free their friend from beneath the piles of rubble that had formed his temporary tomb.

'Is it possible that he's still alive after all that?' he mused to himself. 'Oh, who am I kidding? These damn heroes never die!'

"Metal," he called to the robot behind him, a sadistic smirk crossing his features as his servant stepped up beside him. "Get down there and find the fox, and if he's not dead, finish him."

"My pleasure," answered Metal, turning and exiting the booth immediately, seeming as though he had been waiting the entire battle for those very orders.

Robotnik looked back out on the stadium, his eyes once again finding the anxious faces of the small fighters as they continued to dig.

"Dig all you want," he spoke out loud as if they could hear his taunts. "If your friend isn't already dead, he's about to be," he finished as he noticed Metal's figure appear at the entrance to the stadium. He began to cackle maniacally as his plan seemed to be falling back in place.

The laughing stopped immediately, however, when he felt the barest hint of a breath on the back of his ear.

"Now now, doctor. That is hardly playing fair."

………….

Back on the field, the two children were so absorbed in their task that they didn't notice the robot's approach. Standing directly behind them, he simply reached down and picked them both up by the scruffs of their necks. They barely had time to scream before Metal had launched them back towards the other heroes, smirking as he heard their bodies collide with the holding cell.

By this time, the cheering of the audience had died down, confused murmurs taking its place as every one stared curiously at the new arrival.

Ignoring the audience for the time being (the doctor would have no problem manipulating them yet again once he was done, he thought) he turned back towards the piles of rubble, pleased to see the barest hint of orange peaking out from beneath the glass.

'Excellent,' he thought. 'Less work for me.'

Making quick work of the rest of the glass obstructing his way, the Sonic look-alike glanced down triumphantly at the bloody body of the fox child before him, almost pleased to see the nearly imperceptible rise and fall of his chest.

'Good, not dead yet,' he thought to himself.

Wanting to savor this moment, the robot reached down slowly, planning on lifting the fox up into the view of those in the holding cell before he finished him. Glancing back at the frantic heroes, he smirked as his metallic hands came into contact with the fur of the fox's neck.

What he wasn't planning on, however, was for that fur to disappear the moment he touched it.

Nor was he expecting a very strong, well-placed punch to the face.

………………

Robotnik could only squeeze his fists in anger as he identified the voice of the intruder behind him.

"Rouge," he acknowledged, without turning to meet her face. "And just what brings you to our fine tournament today? Last I checked, you were off in the remote reaches of the planet searching for more treasures…"

"You mean, last you checked after you sent your metallic lackey to kidnap me like the others?" she retorted, stepping to the side of the evil doctor and into his peripheral vision but still keeping herself at a safe distance.

'Damn you Metal' the doctor thought to himself, struggling to calculate a way out of this situation that would not ruin his plans. 'I was so close! There must be some way I can trick her…'

"Why Rouge, I don't know who told you tha-"

"Save it, Doc. I heard it from the mouth of the lackey himself."

'So much for that theory. I will have to remember to enhance Metal's tracking abilities.'

"Now what do you say you get out of my way so I can release the others and make this a fair fight, hmm?" she asked, walking closer as she noticed drop after drop of Robotnik's sweat beading off his nose onto the console before him.

'Good,' she thought. 'He looks far too nervous to have a back-up plan for this.'

Robotnik looked up as Rough approached him, noticing at the same time that out on the battle field, Metal had finally dug the fox out of the rubble and was about to finish him off.

'At least I can salvage something worthwhile out of this day' he thought, hoping to distract the female bat long enough to allow Metal to carry out his orders.

Unfortunately for him, the treasure hunting spy immediately noticed the change in his demeanor, frowning as she followed his gaze to see what had caught his attention.

What she hadn't expected was to see Tails, already battered and bruised, moments away from meeting his end at the hands of Robotnik's creation.

"No!" she yelled out, launching herself onto the console before her, knocking Robotnik from his position in the process and hitting every button within reach.

"No, you fool! Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Robotnik yelled, the anger in his voice hitting its peak as she neared a particular button, but doing nothing to stop her as she frantically pushed it in.

"No!"

……..

"No…" Amy choked out, sobbing brokenly on her knees as she watched the scene happening on the battle field. This action seemingly voiced the emotions of all present in the cell as they watched Cream and Charmy struggle through the glass and plaster covering the third member of their team.

It was the first word that had been spoken since Tails barreled through the glass partition only moments before. To those present, however, it seemed as though days had already passed as they anxiously awaited any sign that the young fox had survived his encounter. The silence was so complete in the transparent holding cell that one would've been hard pressed to determine if its occupants were alive and breathing at all. No one moved, eyes all transfixed in an expression of shock and worry on the scene before them.

Anxiety had quickly turned to anger, however, once Metal emerged onto the field, stalking straight towards the worn-out combatants.

It was all too clear what he had in mind.

"Dammit!" Knuckles cried in frustration, punching the unbreakable wall in front of him repeatedly in a desperate attempt to stop what he knew was coming. "Metal! What do you think you're doing?" he called out at the top of his voice, hoping the robot would hear him and that he would be able to distract him from his all too obvious objective.

The others mirrored his actions, even the normally stoic Espio being moved to hysterics, all furiously pounding away at the wall as they, too, yelled out in vain, refusing to accept the events that were unfolding directly in front of them and yet completely out of their reach.

The robot did in fact hear their cries, however, instead of stopping, he merely turned his head towards the captives, searching out one hedgehog in particular, and winked one of his glowing red eyes in a taunt before turning his attention back to the mission at hand.

"Robotnik, you coward! Is this how you handle defeat?!?" Mighty yelled in frustration, the others chiming in with their own similarly themed comments.

The one conspicuously missing from this onslaught of insults was Sonic.

Amy was the first to notice this, as the blue hedgehog had disappeared from his place at her side. Searching the cell, she finally spotted him against the back wall, his frame mostly cloaked by the darkness surrounding him.

"Sonic?" she tried, reaching a hand out in his direction but remaining rooted to her spot. Something about his stance unsettled her.

As if picking up on this new atmosphere, the others stopped their yelling one by one, turning back to gaze at the hedgehog as well.

His eyes blazed green in the darkness as he looked up to regard them. Sparing a glance towards his best friend, who was now being held aloft by his robotic nemesis, Sonic ground his teeth together in anger. Not wanting to waste another minute, he took a deep breath, finding some relief in the fact that Metal would not be trying to kill Tails if he were already dead.

At least, he hoped so.

"Everyone move. This has gone far enough," he stated in a firm voice, leaving no room for questions. The others obliged, the seriousness of the situation even keeping Knuckles from balking at Sonic's authoritative tone.

All knew what he was going to try, and all were equally aware that there was no stopping him now.

Keeping his eyes fixed on his target, Sonic took off at full speed towards the wall of the cell, ignoring the gasps of his comrades as he neared the perimeter of the enclosure.

Not even his momentary surprise at easily passing through where the wall had been but moments before was enough to distract him from his objective.

The sudden loss of any ground beneath his feet, however, was somewhat disheartening.

….

Robotnik could only watch as his impenetrable shield was removed from the cell in which his other captives were held. The moment he saw that familiar blue blur emerge onto the field, he knew his plans were foiled.

"Damn you, Rouge!" he yelled out, leaping towards her in anger. Unfortunately, the female bat was much quicker, ducking out of the way before the evil doctor could even come close to striking her smaller frame. Instead, he only succeeded in smashing up more of the control board in front of him.

"Well, well, Doctor. I don't think I've ever seen you lose control like this. Could it be that I've somehow interfered with your plans?" she taunted from behind him, grinning as his body shook with rage.

Too angry to even speak, Robotnik looked to the battlefield once more, noting with some pleasure that his and Rouge's actions had activated some of the hidden mines he had planted for later in the competition, forcing Sonic to alter his direction as the ground crumbled around him.

Seeing Metal about to finish off the fox, and calculating that Sonic would never reach him in time, he smiled back at the bat behind him, laughing as he stated, "Why, my dear Rouge, you didn't think I would set up such a battle without a back-up, now did you?"

Not seeing the smile disappear from her face, the evil doctor followed her glance back towards the action, and his whole body immediately snapped taught in shock.

"Why, my dear doctor, I could ask the same of you."

…

Hehe. I can't help but love cliffhangers. Anyone agree? I must admit, they are far more fun to write than to read. Anyway, the next installment should be up soon. Hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it has been so long! I started chapters for many of my ongoing fanfictions, but became otherwise distracted. I am doing my best to finish them up, so enjoy! This story has but one chapter remaining, and it is just the wrap up. So, without further ado...

Chapter 6

Sonic could hear the yells of the others as he desperately tried to navigate his way through what had quickly become a fast-igniting minefield.

'Damn you, Robotnik!' he thought to himself as yet more ground crumpled from beneath his feet. Squinting through the dust, he could still barely make out the form of Metal, firmly planted away from the exploding mines and only seconds away from ending the life of the defenseless fox in his hands.

'No, this can't be happening!' he cried out in his mind, realizing once he got past the mines that he wasn't going to make it in time. Nonetheless, he continued running at full speed, desperate to defy what his own mind was telling him and completely unwilling to accept the alternative.

'Please, no! If anyone is listening, please! Not Tails…'

At that moment, as if in answer to his prayers, a black figure materialized in front of his robotic counterpart, snatching Tails out of his grasp and dashing away in a black blur before the robot could register what had happened.

Taking advantage of this momentary confusion, Sonic continued his path to the robot, throwing his fist at full force into the side of Metal's head and sending him smashing through the piles of glass in front of him.

Only pausing long enough to make sure Metal was not moving any time soon, Sonic turned to the very unlikely guardian Angel who had reappeared behind him, wordlessly taking Tails from his grasp as the others finally emerged, Mighty holding Charmy and Vector carrying Cream.

"What?" started Knuckles, pausing behind the now kneeling Sonic. "Shadow?"

"Hmph. Do you know any other black hedgehogs?" he retorted, crossing his arms and trying to appear unconcerned with the whole situation, though clearly unsettled by all the creatures staring at him with obvious gratitude written across their faces.

Sonic smirked as he looked up from his injured friend, satisfied for the time being that he was still breathing.

"Don't be so grumpy, Shads!" he started, "You're a hero! Again!"

Another "hmph" was the only sign that the other hedgehog had even heard him. Instead, Shadow tore his gaze away from the scene before him and towards something off in the distance.

….

"So, you brought reinforcements," Robotnik finally stated as the shock wore off at seeing Shadow standing in the middle of his battlefield. He had purposefully left the black hedgehog out of his plans, figuring he wouldn't interfere if he wasn't given a reason to.

Apparently, that thought had been wrong.

'These damn hedgehogs are impossible!' he thought to himself, displeased to notice that Metal appeared to be out for the count and all the other combatants were collecting unharmed at the other end of the field.

However, the day was certainly not without its twists, and looking a bit farther into the distance, Robotnik felt his confidence gaining once again.

"Well, Rouge," he started, turning to face his intruder, "It would appear that your destruction of my controls has at least partially worked out in my favor."

Glancing around the rotund doctor, Rouge searched the screen in front of her for some sign of what Robotnik was talking about. Not seeing anything, she was about to call his bluff when her eyes fixed on something in particular in the distance. Her mouth formed a small 'o' before she quickly turned and fled from the control room, Robotnik's laughter echoing down the hallway after her.

….

Knuckles knelt alongside Sonic, also feeling the need to confirm that the small fox was still alive. Giving him the once-over, he turned his gaze back to Sonic, who already seemed to know what he was going to say by the disappearance of his small smirk.

"He's pretty bad, Sonic," Knuckles confirmed, placing a gloved hand on Tails's forehead. "He's already got a fever. We need to get him out of here if he's going to stand a chance."

"That might be a little difficult," came a new voice from behind them. All turned shocked expressions towards the new arrival as she glided in behind them. Giving them a smile and a wink, she turned her attention to Shadow.

"Well Shadow, I was beginning to think you weren't coming," she started, crossing her arms in a mimic of Shadow's stance and smiling when the black hedgehog refused to meet her gaze. "What happened to 'they can fight their own battles'?"

Shadow met her eyes at that, but still made no move to drop his current stance. "These weaklings are hopeless," was his only answer.

"Mmhmm."

"As entertaining as this is," Sonic interrupted, "and believe me, I'm always one for ruffling Shad's feathers, we're in a bit of a rush here."

"Oh right," Rouge started, returning her attention to her kneeling companions as she remembered the reason for her appearance. "Like I said, that's going to be difficult," she finished, nodding her head in the direction of the other "locker room" on the field.

All turned their eyes to follow her motion, and collectively gasped as they noticed a horde of robots now emerging.

"Just great," muttered Knuckles, standing once more to regard the newly arrived bat. "Let me guess, we have you to thank for this?"

"Hey, you also have me to thank for removing that cell wall of yours, Red," she retorted, moving to stand directly in front of the angry Echidna.

Sensing tempers starting to flare, Sonic stood as well, walking over to where Amy was standing and passing the still unconscious Tails into her arms.

"There's no time for this, you guys," he stated, pleased when he caught their attention. "Amy, you take Tails, Charmy and Cream and try to hide away from the robots." At her nod, he turned to the remaining members of the group. "As for the rest of us, we have a few robots to smash."

"Finally!" yelled Vector after placing the mostly conscious rabbit in the care of Amy and returning to the group, thrusting a fist into the air. "I've been aching for a fight since this whole thing started!"

"Robotnik wanted a fight, and now he's going to get one," finished Mighty, also having passed Charmy off to Amy. "So what's the plan?"

"No time for plans," Knuckles quickly answered, noticing some of the robots starting to lock onto their location. "I'd say pick a robot and take it down."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Sonic yelled, dashing out of the way as the first blast of laser fire broke up the group.

...

Not even 5 minutes later, Sonic and gang stood victoriously atop a smoking and crackling pile of former robots.

"Not so much of a challenge when it's a fair fight, is it Robotnik?" Sonic called, turning his head in the direction of the main booth. He was disappointed to note, however, that Robotnik had long since fled the scene, clearly still wise enough to notice when he was defeated.

"Ha! Ran away with his tail between his legs!" shouted Vector, high-fiving Mighty and stomping on another robot head for good measure.

"Enough gloating," started Knuckles, already heading away from the massacre. "We need to grab the others and get them somewhere we can check them out."

By this time, the crowd had resumed its very vocal cheering as chants started in Sonic's name. The blue hedgehog, however, did not even spare the audience a glance. 'Like I would respond to them after they cheered on those robots? They'll be lucky if I ever risk my neck for them again.' Instead, he also headed off in the direction he sent Amy, keeping his eyes peeled for the pink hedgehog as he called her name.

"Over here Sonic!" she finally replied, ducking out from her hiding place. "Hurry! I think Tails is getting worse!"

Sonic increased his speed at that, the others hurrying to accompany him as he made his way towards their injured members. Upon arriving at the hiding spot, he reached in and grabbed Tails, once again cradling him in his arms.

"Let's get out of here," he stated as the others collected Charmy and Cream.

"Where to?" Knuckles asked. "We can head back to Angel Island, but I actually have no idea where it is right now. Or where we are for that matter."

"I know this place," Espio piped up. "We are not far from Chaotix HQ. We will take them there."

"Then lead the way."

…..

Final chapter coming soon!


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